The movie in general. Juno is portrayed as being generally savvy, self-and-others aware, and pretty much the smartest, coolest one in the room. Why, then didn't she have the sense to use birth control? Surely she knows where babies come from! (ps—yeah, the same reason Hamlet didn't kill his usurping uncle four or five times over when he had the chance—there wouldn't have been a story. But still...).
Heat of the moment, perhaps? Intelligent people are just as subject to their hormones as anyone, and despite what the condom pushers say, people are not rational enough to consider the consequences when they let their sexual desires take control. Also, smart people take bad advice from their peers about as often as anyone else. Maybe one of her friends who's good at statistics but inept at logic happened to tell her about how low one's chances of getting pregnant from having sex just once are (and neglected to mention how that chance is still a chance and people rarely have sex just once)?
Maybe she just acts savvy, smart, and cool to divert attention from the fact she's an awkward, unpopular, pregnant teenager, and/or we're supposed to think she suddenly wised up upon seeing the consequences of her irresponsible behavior. And, anyway, she's witty but not necessarily sensible. She doesn't make that many smart decisions totally on her own.
Being self aware and/or smart doesn't mean impervious to stupid decisions. While she is quick witted there are many scenes showing that she is still a kid with a kid viewpoint of the world. Brenda criticizing her for visiting Mark with the ultrasound shows that she really isn't as smart as much as she would like to believe.
Word of God says that Juno wasn't a virgin when having sex with Paulie, and assuming that she never got pregnant before the start of the movie, she probably just thought a little bit of sex with a virgin without protection wouldn't hurt. Unfortunately for her, Law of Inverse Fertility is in action.
Who's to say she didn't? While condoms are effective at preventing pregnancies, they aren't 100%. The pill has to be taken on a regular basis in order to work, and since only Leah knew she was "sexually active", there wouldn't be anyone else to remind her to take it. And as the movie pointed out, she can be bad at remembering when meds need to be taken...
Their teenage daughter is pregnant and the parents are apparently COOL WITH IT. Not angry, seriously disappointed, depressed or humiliated (yes...that emotion might come up). They are just sort of blase about their teenaged daughter being impregnated. And...no serious discussions about the fact that their daughter getting pregnant means she is probably having unprotected sex.
Well both of her parents seem rather understanding, and really, unless they're gonna drag her to an abortion clinic or a surgeon to restore her hymen, what can they really do about it? Juno intended to give up the child off the bat and seemed to be acting responsible for her actions. Plus we don't really see most of the pregnancy as it skips ahead several months a few times.
There was one point where Bren reminds Juno that she has made sacrifices for her. Granted they specifically mention her wanting to own dogs, but the implication seemed to be there (particularly since she was sewing maternity pants for Juno).
There are actually parents in the world who would be pretty cool-headed about such situations. The usual reaction might be an extremely negative one, but the way Juno's parents responded seemed pretty in-line with their personalities (especially since Juno immediately told them she was going to give the baby up for adoption). Her dad also delivers a line - saying that he thought Juno knew when to say when - that does have a noticeable hint of anger in it, so evidently while he can keep his cool he's clearly displeased.
On a rewatch, they aren't cool about the situation, but know that getting angry wouldn't help at this point. Instead, they ask the practical questions: how long has Juno been sexually active (a while), who is the father (Paulie Bleaker), is Juno going to abort or adopt (adopt) and does she have a plan for meeting with the parents (yes). Their bigger concern is making sure their daughter is prepared for the future. It's not until she leaves that her dad says he's going to kick Paulie Bleaker in the weiner, something at Juno would most definitely not want to hear, let alone that they would have preferred her being expelled or on drugs.
This is actually about the page on this site, but WHO is Hobson? I've seen this movie half a dozen times and never noticed a character with that name, yet they're listed at least twice as Deadpan Snarker.
The guy at the convenience store played by Rainn Wilson.
Juno is somehow allowed to go to an abortion clinic alone. Most clinics require you to have someone with you in order to ensure reliable transportation (even if it's accompanying to a taxi) following the procedure.
Leah was going to pick her up after the procedure; she says so herself. And also, the talk about the different clinics and how the other one Juno considers requires a parental note. The one she goes to is clearly more relaxed when it comes to things otherwise she wouldn't go to it.
Why was the scene in the abortion clinic even necessary? Similar to the above entry about not using birth control, of course Juno needs to not have an abortion for the story to happen, but she doesn’t give a particularly good reason for it. The excuse seems to be that the idea of having an abortion made her nervous, but childbirth is a hundred times more painful and stressful than an abortion would ever be. It would have made more sense just to scrap the clinic scene and never mention the option of getting an abortion, even if it required some suspension of disbelief.
